Sports & Exercise

Aerobic Training (Care of the Young Athlete)

Aerobic training strengthens the heart and lungs
and improves muscle function. One goal of aerobic training is to enhance sports
performance and to improve training response. The following is information from
the American Academy of Pediatrics about aerobic training exercises.

What are aerobic training exercises?

Aerobic training exercises are any activities
that raise heart rate and make breathing somewhat harder. The activity you are
doing must be constant and continuous. Examples of aerobic activities are

Walking or hiking

Jogging or running

Biking

Swimming

Rowing

In-line skating

Cross-country skiing

Exercising on a stair-climber or
elliptical machine

Other activities, when done in a constant and
continuous way, can be aerobic, such as tennis, racquetball, squash, and the
martial arts. Weight training, however, is not aerobic because it is done in
short bursts of a few minutes at a time.

How does aerobic training improve endurance?

Aerobic training increases the rate at which
oxygen inhaled is passed on from the lungs and heart to the bloodstream to be
used by the muscles. Aerobically fit athletes can exercise longer and harder
before feeling tired. During exercise they have a slower heart rate, slower
breathing rate, less muscle fatigue, and more energy. After exercise, recovery
happens more quickly. Aerobic fitness can be measured in a laboratory setting
while exercising on a treadmill or bicycle. This is called maximal
oxygen uptake or VO2 max.

How often and how long should athletes train?

To achieve a training response, athletes should
exercise 3 to 5 times per week for at least 20 to 60 minutes. Fitness level can
be improved with as little as 10 minutes of exercise if done 2 to 3 times per
day. If the goal is also to lose body fat, athletes should exercise for at least
30 to 60 minutes. Athletes who are not fit will need to start with lesser
amounts of exercise. They can slowly add more time as their endurance improves.
Increasing the level of exercise at about 10% per week is a good goal to
prevent overuse injury.

Cross-training can help reduce the risk of
overuse injuries. This is done by alternating different kinds of activities. To
avoid putting too much stress on the body and help prevent injuries, it is wise
to alternate high-impact activities, like running, with low-impact exercises,
like walking, cycling, and swimming.

How hard should athletes train?

Training at low to moderate intensity levels is
enough to improve endurance. In general, this level of intensity is more
enjoyable and less likely to lead to injuries than high-intensity training.

However, aerobic training programs should be
designed to match each athlete's fitness level. There are 3 ways to
measure aerobic training intensity.

1. The "talk
test." During a workout, athletes should be able to
say a few words comfortably, catch their breath, and resume talking. If
it is difficult to say a few words, then athletes should probably slow
down. If athletes can talk easily without getting out of breath, then
they are probably not training hard enough.

2. Heart rate. Aerobic
training occurs when heart rate during exercise is between 60% to
90% of maximal heart rate. Athletes can figure out their maximal
heart rate by subtracting their age from 220.

How to Calculate Maximal Heart Rate (HR) Between
60% to 90%

Maximal HR = 220
– your age

60% maximal HR
= 0.6 X (220 – your age)

90% maximal HR
= 0.9 X (220 – your age)

Example for a 15-year-old

Maximal HR: 220 – 15
= 205

60% maximal HR: 0.6 x
205 = 123

90% maximal HR: 0.9 x
205 = 184.5

Target HR range for aerobic
training is 123 to 184 beats per minute.

3. Level of difficulty.
Athletes can determine how hard the exercise feels on a scale of 1 to 10
using the Borg Scale of perceived exertion. The ideal range for aerobic
training is between 2 and 7.

Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion—How to Tell How Hard You Are
Exercising

0

Nothing at all

0.5

Very, very weak

1

Very weak

2

Weak

3

Moderate

4

Somewhat strong

5

Strong

6

7

Very strong

8

9

Very, very strong

10

Maximal

Other factors affecting aerobic training response

Baseline fitness level. The
more unfit athletes are, the greater the training response. However, as
athletes become more fit, it will take higher levels of training to
improve further.

Genetics. Genetics play a
large role in an athlete's natural fitness level as well as how
much he will improve as a result of training.

Growth. As children grow,
they are able to respond more to aerobic training. However, before
puberty, the aerobic training response is much less than during and
after puberty. This is why aerobic training is of limited value for
improving endurance in young children. Activities should focus more on
other goals, such as skill development and fun.

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